In order to strengthen European cooperation in sport, the Council adopts a series of specific actions to be implemented by the Commission and the European Union (EU) countries during the period 2011-2014.

ACT

Resolution of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on a European Union Work Plan for Sport for 2011-2014 [OJ C 162 of 1.6.2011].

SUMMARY

The Treaty of Lisbon made sport a European Union (EU) area of competency, in which it can support, coordinate and complement the actions of its Member States. By promoting sustainable, smart and inclusive growth, and job creation, sport also contributes to the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy. Furthermore, it has a positive effect on social inclusion, education, training, public health and active ageing.

In order to develop the European dimension in sport, the Council approves a 3-year work plan detailing the actions to be implemented by Member States and the Commission.

Three priority themes are identified and accompanied by actions for the period 2011-2014:

1The integrity of sport, in particular the fight against doping and match-fixing. The actions defined to this end are:

1Economic aspects of sport, in particular sustainable financing of sports and evidence-based policy making. Two actions are defined in this respect:

promote data collection to measure the economic benefits of the EU sport sector;

strengthen financial solidarity mechanisms between professional sport and grassroots sport.

Implementation

In order to support the implementation of the Work Plan, work methods which have never before been used in the area of sport have been introduced, namely expert groups created by the Commission and the EU countries in the following areas: anti-doping; good governance in sport; education and training in sport; sport, health and participation; sport statistics and sustainable financing of sport. Reinforced dialogue structures have also been created and the Commission has been invited to produce a report on the execution of the Work Plan published in January 2014, which will serve as the basis for a new Work Plan to be applied from mid-2014.

RELATED ACTS

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions of 18 January 2011 - Developing the European Dimension in Sport [COM(2011) 12 final - Not published in the Official Journal].

White Paper on sport of 11 July 2007, presented by the European Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee [COM(2007) 391 final - Not published in the Official Journal].

These conclusions follow EU guidelines concerning dual careers for athletes, which were created by the Member States and Commission Expert Group Education and Training in Sport. They invite the Member States, sports organisations and other concerned parties to adopt a series of measures with the aim of allowing athletes to combine a sporting career with study and/or work in a flexible way. These measures will lead towards an action framework and/or national guidelines regarding dual careers, to concrete action in terms of athletes' teaching, work, health and financial means. The Commission itself is called on to support and evaluate the implementation of this policy.

This recommendation aims to promote useful policies regarding health-enhancing physical activity, creating an interdisciplinary approach across sport, health, education, environment and transport sectors. It also aims to ensure the continuance of levels of physical activity and national policies in this area, as well as promoting regular exchange of information and good practices relating to the promotion of health-enhancing physical activity. It will be executed in synergy and close cooperation with the World Health Organisation (WHO), in order to avoid any unhelpful repetition of activities in terms of data collection.

Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on 24 January 2014 on the implementation of the European Union Work Plan for Sport 2011-2014 [ COM(2014) 022 final - Not published in the Official Journal].

Generally, the activities carried out in the context of the Work Plan have yielded very good results in the priority areas described. The Work Plan has had a positive impact on the sport sector in the majority of countries, has been useful for the development and execution of sports policies on a national level and has led to fruitful results for political processes. The influence of the Work Plan on political processes in terms of sport seems to have been rather less useful outside the Union.